Susanna Nicchiarelli’s latest film opens with a neo-punk song and title credits flashing in Alexander McQueen-esque prints across the screen. Woohoo! Looks like we are in for a punk-rock rollercoaster ride in the life of Karl Marx’s daughter, Eleanor (Romola Garai); a film as radical as the woman, perhaps. Alas, the in-your-face opening does not live up to its promise. Nicchiarelli has chosen a fascinating woman who was surrounded by great thinkers, was a gifted writer and orator, had forward-thinking views, was a linguist and lived a life outside of the parameters dictated by Victorian society. And what does the director focus on? Eleanor’s love life.
The film opens with Eleanor (Tussie to her family and friends) speaking at her father’s graveside on the day of his funeral and this is a handy way to introduce some of the key characters: Engels (John Gordon Sinclair...
The film opens with Eleanor (Tussie to her family and friends) speaking at her father’s graveside on the day of his funeral and this is a handy way to introduce some of the key characters: Engels (John Gordon Sinclair...
- 9/8/2020
- by Jo-Ann Titmarsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
“Miss Marx” is a biopic bookended by death, colored by it throughout. It introduces us to socialist activist Eleanor Marx at the funeral of her father Karl, and follows her through to her untimely suicide, at the age of 43, some 15 years later. Ghosts of the past and future weigh heavily on her in the interim: She mourns her father not long after burying her mother and her sister. Months after Eleanor’s suicide, her long-term partner Edward Aveling followed her into the ground; another sister took her own life years later. All of which is to say that waves and shadows of grief move through Susanna Nicchiarelli’s ambitious film at every turn, running backwards and forwards, as it studies how its subject attempted to change the world for the better — all while a hard black knot of compacted unhappiness settled and expanded inside her.
This makes for an unavoidably downcast portrait,...
This makes for an unavoidably downcast portrait,...
- 9/5/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Susanna Nicchiarelli's Nico, 1988 star Trine Dyrholm: "It's so important to have such complex female characters on screen." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
"This is Berlin, my darling, it's burning," says a mother to her daughter. The child is to become The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol icon known as Nico. Susanna Nicchiarelli's Nico, 1988, a highlight of the Tribeca Film Festival and the Horizons Award Best Film winner at last year's Venice International Film Festival, stars an outstanding Trine Dyrholm as Christa Päffgen (Nico's birth name). John Gordon Sinclair is her hapless manager Richard, Thomas Trabacchi music collaborator Domenico, Sandor Funtek is Christa's lost son Ari, Anamaria Marinca is violinst Sylvia, and Karina Fernandez is Laura.
Nico (Trine Dyrholm) with her son Ari (Sandor Funtek): "It's a universal film. It's a film about a mother, a woman, an artist, a war generation, a human being."
Nicchiarelli's extraordinary film, produced by...
"This is Berlin, my darling, it's burning," says a mother to her daughter. The child is to become The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol icon known as Nico. Susanna Nicchiarelli's Nico, 1988, a highlight of the Tribeca Film Festival and the Horizons Award Best Film winner at last year's Venice International Film Festival, stars an outstanding Trine Dyrholm as Christa Päffgen (Nico's birth name). John Gordon Sinclair is her hapless manager Richard, Thomas Trabacchi music collaborator Domenico, Sandor Funtek is Christa's lost son Ari, Anamaria Marinca is violinst Sylvia, and Karina Fernandez is Laura.
Nico (Trine Dyrholm) with her son Ari (Sandor Funtek): "It's a universal film. It's a film about a mother, a woman, an artist, a war generation, a human being."
Nicchiarelli's extraordinary film, produced by...
- 8/5/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
"I don't need everybody to like me, I don't care." Magnolia Pictures has debuted the trailer for a film titled Nico, 1988, a music biopic profiling the life of singer-songwriter Christa Päffgen, better known by her stage name "Nico". She was one of Andy Warhol's muses and also the celebrated vocalist for The Velvet Underground, until she tragically died at age 49 in 1988. "Writer-director Susanna Nicchiarelli dives deep into the anguished and scattered psychology of Nico’s final years. She blends a tangible reverence for her subject with dark humor, crafting a riveting examination of a fragile artist constantly pushed to perform." Danish actress Trine Dyrholm stars as Nico, along with John Gordon Sinclair, Anamaria Marinca, Sandor Funtek, Thomas Trabacchi, Karina Fernandez, Calvin Demba, and Francesco Colella. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, and hit a bunch of other festivals before its release. Here's the official Us...
- 7/17/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
It’s always a pleasure to see a British film not only live up to the potential of the cast and the crew, but to surpass all expectations in such a dazzling, humble manner is a treat indeed.
Pride, the new film from director Matthew Warchus and writer Stephen Beresford, premiered in London this evening and we were on the carpet to catch those in attendance. The film tells the strange and wonderful tale of a curious alliance formed in the 80s between a group of Lgbt activists and the miners affected by the government’s brutal policies. This is a recipe for great things, with a tangible sense of joy, and a very funny script, making the most of the unusual bedfellow.
Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton were on hand as were Paddy Considine and Andrew Scott (who as Moriaty in BBC’s Sherlock cast a spell over the entire country) – all beaming with,...
Pride, the new film from director Matthew Warchus and writer Stephen Beresford, premiered in London this evening and we were on the carpet to catch those in attendance. The film tells the strange and wonderful tale of a curious alliance formed in the 80s between a group of Lgbt activists and the miners affected by the government’s brutal policies. This is a recipe for great things, with a tangible sense of joy, and a very funny script, making the most of the unusual bedfellow.
Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton were on hand as were Paddy Considine and Andrew Scott (who as Moriaty in BBC’s Sherlock cast a spell over the entire country) – all beaming with,...
- 9/2/2014
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
This is the review of Another Year, directed by Mike Leigh and stars Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez, Martin Savage, Michele Austin, Phil Davis, Stuart McQuarrie and Imelda Staunton. The film opens with an uncomfortably tight close-up of Imelda Staunton’s scowling face. The ruddy, thin lipped grimace, panicky aversion to eye contact, deep-set frown lines all paint a picture of hounded unhappiness. It’s an unnerving start. Just a few minutes in the doctor’s room with Janet - a sleep starved, middle-aged, depressive - and already a hefty dose of our sympathy has unwittingly been tapped. And Leigh begins as he means to go on. The experience of watching this film feels a bit like giving blood, so exhausting and draining are the lines of pathos that he channels from us. This is not to misrepresent the film, as it is,...
- 2/26/2011
- by Dan Hollis
- Pure Movies
Title: Another Year Directed by: Mike Leigh Starring: Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez Click Here for the latest clips and trailers from “Another Year”. Not sure if it was writer/director Michael Leigh’s intention to depict a comedy in the 129 minute “Another Year.” For whatever reason, this guy could not stop laughing at the train-wreck of characters that came in and out of this story. And that’s a very good thing my friends (it‘s not one of those ‘it is so bad it’s funny’ type of pieces). The contrasting dynamics within the characters is quite enjoyable to watch. Granted the length [...]...
- 1/28/2011
- by joe
- ShockYa
I am, unfortunately, a relative newcomer to the cinema of British filmmaker Mike Leigh. This is a shortcoming that, as per the New Year's tradition, will hopefully be rectified by a cinematic resolution. Two years ago, I was floored by Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), a shaggy but endearing portrait of a young woman, appropriately named Poppy (Sally Hawkins), and the consequences of her happiness on those around her. His latest film, Another Year (2010), is the polar opposite. The film chronicles the lives of two married near-retirees, geologist Tom (Jim Broadbent) and therapist Gerri (Ruth Sheen). They are blissfully married, sharing their days together in their garden and visiting with their son, Joe (Oliver Maltman). Yet, the calm of their household offers refuge from the storms of everyday life for their friends, including a pair of depressed alcoholics, Mary (Leslie Manville) and Ken (Peter Wight), whose problems occasionally bring rain to Tom and Gerri's garden.
- 1/3/2011
- by Drew Morton
Top Ten Movies of 2010
I feel as if 2010 marked a turning point in movies. Sure, we had our share of blockbusters with Alice in Wonderland crossing $1 billion worldwide and Iron Man 2 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse joining it as the three lone live-action films to cross $300 million. However, after Inception and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the only other films to cross the $200 million mark domestically were animated features -- Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Shrek Forever After and How to Train Your Dragon. What does that say about this year's crop of films?
Well, first off, I think we all know a film doesn't need to make over $200 million at the box-office for it to be deemed "good." And this year it wasn't as much about the big blockbuster films as much as it was about the little guy that could, and smaller, indie films hit quite a stride.
I feel as if 2010 marked a turning point in movies. Sure, we had our share of blockbusters with Alice in Wonderland crossing $1 billion worldwide and Iron Man 2 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse joining it as the three lone live-action films to cross $300 million. However, after Inception and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the only other films to cross the $200 million mark domestically were animated features -- Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Shrek Forever After and How to Train Your Dragon. What does that say about this year's crop of films?
Well, first off, I think we all know a film doesn't need to make over $200 million at the box-office for it to be deemed "good." And this year it wasn't as much about the big blockbuster films as much as it was about the little guy that could, and smaller, indie films hit quite a stride.
- 12/29/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
A word of warning – watching Another Year requires very different expectations than your run-of-the-mill comedy drama. There is no three act narrative structure. Instead, the film portrays brief periods of time within four seasons. There is no climax – issues and conflicts affecting the character’s lives aren’t wrapped up or solved. Nor does the director imply judgment or any opinion about what is being presented – the viewer is left to take from it what they will and form their own ideas from the material. Like many of director Mike Leigh’s films (Vera Drake, Secrets & Lies, Naked), it’s the very definition of a character-based project devoted to depicting naturalistic performances.
And, as a slice of life experiment, it is effective.
While not dealing directly with hot button issues like abortion or racism, as in some of the earlier works mentioned, there’s more going on than initially meets the eye.
And, as a slice of life experiment, it is effective.
While not dealing directly with hot button issues like abortion or racism, as in some of the earlier works mentioned, there’s more going on than initially meets the eye.
- 12/28/2010
- by Glenn Kay
- newsinfilm.com
Earlier this month, I spoke by telephone for 30 minutes with Mike Leigh, the legendary British director of “Another Year” and numerous other films over the past four decades — including “Naked” (1993), “Topsy-Turvy” (1999), “Secrets & Lies” (1996), “Vera Drake” (2004), and “Happy-Go-Lucky” (2008) — all of which share a gritty “kitchen sink realism” that is achieved largely through Leigh’s unique process of developing a story in conjunction with his actors.
Click Here To Listen To The Audio Of Our Conversation!
I have often heard that Leigh, 67, can be prickly with journalists, but he couldn’t have been more pleasant over the course of our conversation, during which we covered a mountain of material:
his early moviegoing favorites (you might be surprised by some of what he names) and frustrations (“I remember very clearly thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you had a movie where the characters in it were like real people?’”); his training as an actor at R.
Click Here To Listen To The Audio Of Our Conversation!
I have often heard that Leigh, 67, can be prickly with journalists, but he couldn’t have been more pleasant over the course of our conversation, during which we covered a mountain of material:
his early moviegoing favorites (you might be surprised by some of what he names) and frustrations (“I remember very clearly thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you had a movie where the characters in it were like real people?’”); his training as an actor at R.
- 12/20/2010
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
Mike Leigh turns in a subtly compelling film about a quietly contented middle-aged couple, says Philip French
Few film-makers can match Mike Leigh's body of consistently remarkable work for the theatre, TV and the big screen over the past 40 years. Cumulatively, these dramas have created his own version of a Britain populated by recurrent, now familiar faces who have become neighbours in our worlds. What is possibly his greatest achievement to date, Secrets and Lies, was made in 1996, but the quartet of films he has made this century – All or Nothing, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year – would be enough to guarantee him a significant place in our, indeed the world's, cinema.
All four in their different ways tackle that difficult problem of making essentially good people interesting. This is not difficult perhaps in the case of Vera Drake, when the person involved is a kindly, working-class woman drawn into performing abortions,...
Few film-makers can match Mike Leigh's body of consistently remarkable work for the theatre, TV and the big screen over the past 40 years. Cumulatively, these dramas have created his own version of a Britain populated by recurrent, now familiar faces who have become neighbours in our worlds. What is possibly his greatest achievement to date, Secrets and Lies, was made in 1996, but the quartet of films he has made this century – All or Nothing, Vera Drake, Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year – would be enough to guarantee him a significant place in our, indeed the world's, cinema.
All four in their different ways tackle that difficult problem of making essentially good people interesting. This is not difficult perhaps in the case of Vera Drake, when the person involved is a kindly, working-class woman drawn into performing abortions,...
- 11/7/2010
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
There are 5 new clips in from Sony Pictures Classics' "Another Year" which finds venues on December 29th. The talented cast includes Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen and Imelda Staunton. Also in the cast are Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradlet, Karina Fernandez, Martin Savage, Michele Austin, Phil Davis and Stuart McQuarrie. Mike Leigh directs and writes the dramedy. In the Spring, happily married Gerri, a medical counselor, and Tom, a geologist, tend their allotment. They entertain Gerri?s lonely work colleague Mary, who gets very drunk, and bemoans her disastrous love life. Gerri and Tom enjoy a warm relationship with their community lawyer son Joe, aged 30, who reports that although his friends are getting married, he is still without a partner...
- 11/5/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Mike Leigh offers us yet another intimate ensemble drama about ordinary people – with richly rewarding results, writes Peter Bradshaw
Like Monet with another clump of water lilies, Mike Leigh has returned with a new family-and-friends group portrait, a movie in which the distant sob or throb of sadness is never entirely absent. With its immersive sweetness and gentleness, this is another utterly confident and unhurried ensemble picture from Leigh, containing his distinctively extended dialogue scenes of unpointed ordinariness, and a lowered narrative heartbeat to which you have to make a conscious effort to adjust. His last film, Happy-Go-Lucky, tilted the tone to the "sweet" end of the bittersweet spectrum; Another Year takes us in the opposite direction, and to my ear, the neo-Dickensian cartooniness of his language, perceptibly normalised in recent films, is here lessened still further.
Again, Leigh uses repertory casting: Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen play Tom and...
Like Monet with another clump of water lilies, Mike Leigh has returned with a new family-and-friends group portrait, a movie in which the distant sob or throb of sadness is never entirely absent. With its immersive sweetness and gentleness, this is another utterly confident and unhurried ensemble picture from Leigh, containing his distinctively extended dialogue scenes of unpointed ordinariness, and a lowered narrative heartbeat to which you have to make a conscious effort to adjust. His last film, Happy-Go-Lucky, tilted the tone to the "sweet" end of the bittersweet spectrum; Another Year takes us in the opposite direction, and to my ear, the neo-Dickensian cartooniness of his language, perceptibly normalised in recent films, is here lessened still further.
Again, Leigh uses repertory casting: Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen play Tom and...
- 11/4/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Mike Leigh's films are renowned for their formidable female characters. We get some of his favourite actresses, from veterans Alison Steadman and Brenda Blethyn to the stars of Another Year, together to discuss the special magic of creating a character with Leigh – and talk to the man himself
When Mike Leigh has anything to do with a party, it tends to be dangerous: everything, in his films, starts to unravel. But at this get-together of women who regularly act in them, all is well. They are opening the champagne, getting ready to smile for the camera, and someone – I think it is Alison Steadman – shouts: "To Mike!". Everyone – Imelda Staunton, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Marion Bailey, Karina Fernandez – lifts their glasses. There is much laughter and noisy conversation. I know how many of his regulars regret not being here because I have been talking to some of them – Brenda Blethyn,...
When Mike Leigh has anything to do with a party, it tends to be dangerous: everything, in his films, starts to unravel. But at this get-together of women who regularly act in them, all is well. They are opening the champagne, getting ready to smile for the camera, and someone – I think it is Alison Steadman – shouts: "To Mike!". Everyone – Imelda Staunton, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Marion Bailey, Karina Fernandez – lifts their glasses. There is much laughter and noisy conversation. I know how many of his regulars regret not being here because I have been talking to some of them – Brenda Blethyn,...
- 11/1/2010
- by Kate Kellaway
- The Guardian - Film News
This is the daily news vodcast from the London Film Festival on Pure Movies covering the gala premiere of Another Year, screening at London Film Festival. Another Year is a film by Mike Leigh and stars Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez, Martin Savage, Michele Austin, Phil Davis, Stuart McQuarrie and Imelda Staunton. In the Spring, happily married Gerri, a medical counsellor, and Tom, a geologist, tend their allotment. They entertain Gerri’s lonely work colleague Mary, who gets very drunk, and bemoans her disastrous love life. Gerri and Tom enjoy a warm relationship with their community lawyer son Joe, aged 30, who reports that although his friends are getting married, he is still without a partner.
- 10/22/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
David from Victim of the Time, reporting from the 54th BFI London Film Festival.
I've been engrossed in this festival for so long now, it already feels like it's winding down; in fact, there's another week to go, with Danny Boyle's 127 Hours the closing night gala next Thursday evening. Perhaps my feeling comes from the fact that my most anticipated film is just around the corner: yes, I too fell under the spell of the Black Swan trailer, and it hits my eyeballs tomorrow. I'm at fever pitch. Today, though, we visit Italia and Quebec, but not before a British perennial delivers once again...
Lesley Manville.
I realise I have a tendency to waffle, so I thought I’d get straight to the point.
I had my problems with Another Year, but, as you’ve heard (and heard, and heard), Lesley Manville is absolutely superb in it. I’d heard that too,...
I've been engrossed in this festival for so long now, it already feels like it's winding down; in fact, there's another week to go, with Danny Boyle's 127 Hours the closing night gala next Thursday evening. Perhaps my feeling comes from the fact that my most anticipated film is just around the corner: yes, I too fell under the spell of the Black Swan trailer, and it hits my eyeballs tomorrow. I'm at fever pitch. Today, though, we visit Italia and Quebec, but not before a British perennial delivers once again...
Lesley Manville.
I realise I have a tendency to waffle, so I thought I’d get straight to the point.
I had my problems with Another Year, but, as you’ve heard (and heard, and heard), Lesley Manville is absolutely superb in it. I’d heard that too,...
- 10/21/2010
- by Dave
- FilmExperience
This is the Pure Movies trailer for Another Year, screening at London Film Festival. Another year is a film by Mike Leigh and stars Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, Oliver Maltman, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez, Martin Savage, Michele Austin, Phil Davis, Stuart McQuarrie and Imelda Staunton. In the Spring, happily married Gerri, a medical counsellor, and Tom, a geologist, tend their allotment. They entertain Gerri’s lonely work colleague Mary, who gets very drunk, and bemoans her disastrous love life. Gerri and Tom enjoy a warm relationship with their community lawyer son Joe, aged 30, who reports that although his friends are getting married, he is still without a partner.
- 10/12/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
This is a news story from Pure Movies. The 54th BFI London Film Festival yesterday announced that the festival will be going nationwide on the evening of Monday 18 October with a simultaneous UK premiere of Mike Leigh’s Another Year. Mike Leigh, the director of Vera Drake and Happy-go-lucky, brings Another Year to the festival, starring Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Martin Savage, Karina Fernandez, Michele Austin and Philip Davis. 25 regional cinemas across the UK will screen the film in addition to 9 other London venues, all receiving a live satellite link before the screening from the red carpet on Leicester Square, in addition to an exclusive post-screening Q&A with Leigh and the cast live from Leicester Square.
- 10/10/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
Coming out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, very few films walked away with the massive level of hype that Mike Leigh’s (Naked) newest film, Another Year, did.
Opposite films like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful and Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Another Year easily became one of the festival’s most beloved films, and is still considered by many the best film to come out of that festival.
Now, we finally have our first real look at the film, and thanks to the Guardian, it’s in the form of one hell of a great trailer. The outlet (via Rope Of Silicon) brings us the trailer, and I have to say, it looks like a welcoming comedy, with some fantastic performances from the likes of Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville. The cast also includes Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez and Phil Davis.
Opposite films like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful and Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Another Year easily became one of the festival’s most beloved films, and is still considered by many the best film to come out of that festival.
Now, we finally have our first real look at the film, and thanks to the Guardian, it’s in the form of one hell of a great trailer. The outlet (via Rope Of Silicon) brings us the trailer, and I have to say, it looks like a welcoming comedy, with some fantastic performances from the likes of Jim Broadbent and Lesley Manville. The cast also includes Ruth Sheen, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Karina Fernandez and Phil Davis.
- 8/23/2010
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
As a result of a bizarre 2009 production year, Tiff is the happy recipient of some premium titles which include the world premieres to some of my most anticipated films this year in: Mike Mill's Beginners, John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole, Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go, Andrucha Waddington's Lope and Rowan Joffe's Brighton Rock. Then we have titles that are coming from this year's Sundance, Cannes or both (Blue Valentine picks up the trifecta honor) and then we have titles that come to us from out of nowhere with Michael Winterbottom's The Trip and Richard Ayoade's debut film, Submarine. Here are the Special Presentation items revealed in today's presser. Note: In case you're wondering: that's Colin Firth from The King's Speech. Another Year Mike Leigh, United Kingdom North American Premiere A happily married, middle-aged couple are visited by a number of unhappy and lonely...
- 7/27/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Here comes the 35th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, and the line-up thus far of Galas and Special Presentations (that is code for High Profile Films) is looking quite stellar. In this first taster, there are new films from Kim Ji-Woon, Andrew Lau (and not even in the Midnight Madness portion, those films have not been announced yet!) Stephen Frears, Mark Romanek, Darren Aronfosky, Michael Winterbottom, Sylvain Chomet, Mike Leigh, François Ozon, Tran Anh Hung, Guillaume Canet, John Cameron Mitchell, Danis Tanovic, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Julian Schnabel and Im Sang-Soo. Please sirs, I want some more!
No signs of Terrence Malick yet, but fingers crossed!
Full Press Release from Tiff:
"On the occasion of our 35th anniversary, we are thrilled to announce this selection of important and notable films," says Piers Handling, Director and CEO of Tiff. "The richness and diversity of this year's Galas and Special...
No signs of Terrence Malick yet, but fingers crossed!
Full Press Release from Tiff:
"On the occasion of our 35th anniversary, we are thrilled to announce this selection of important and notable films," says Piers Handling, Director and CEO of Tiff. "The richness and diversity of this year's Galas and Special...
- 7/27/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The Toronto International Film Festival will be celebrating its 35th year this September and it has announced today the first batch of big premieres. Some highlights include Darren Aronofsky‘s Black Swan, Robert Redford‘s The Conspirator, John Madden‘s The Debt, Tom Hooper‘s The King’s Speech, and Mark Romanek‘s Never Let Me Go. Check out the initial line-up below.
Galas
The Bang Bang Club. Steven Silver, Canada/South Africa World Premiere The Bang Bang Club was the name given to four young photographers, Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva, whose photographs captured the final bloody days of white rule in South Africa and the final demise of apartheid. The film tells the remarkable and sometimes harrowing story of these young men – and the extraordinary extremes they went to in order to capture their pictures. The film stars Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, Taylor Kitsch,...
Galas
The Bang Bang Club. Steven Silver, Canada/South Africa World Premiere The Bang Bang Club was the name given to four young photographers, Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and Joao Silva, whose photographs captured the final bloody days of white rule in South Africa and the final demise of apartheid. The film tells the remarkable and sometimes harrowing story of these young men – and the extraordinary extremes they went to in order to capture their pictures. The film stars Ryan Phillippe, Malin Akerman, Taylor Kitsch,...
- 7/27/2010
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Mike Leigh’s is always going to be a difficult filmic brand to promote among certain circles, with a group of critics I know personally split roughly fifty/fifty on his work: I think from conversations with the anti-Leigh brigade that the problem lies in his distinct, but often unthrilling narrative manifesto.
There is never a guaranteed thrill quota, which immediately turns people off, but then that is precisely why fans are still attracted to every project that carries his name- he provides gentle narratives as a means to explore characters and relationships, and consciously renders a typical plot secondary as they are promoted to primary concern. This is certainly why I personally am attracted to his work, along with his legendary improvisation-heavy style that clearly empowers actors and encourages the kind of on-screen relationships that every other conventional director must cast envious eyes towards.
I do however, still find...
There is never a guaranteed thrill quota, which immediately turns people off, but then that is precisely why fans are still attracted to every project that carries his name- he provides gentle narratives as a means to explore characters and relationships, and consciously renders a typical plot secondary as they are promoted to primary concern. This is certainly why I personally am attracted to his work, along with his legendary improvisation-heavy style that clearly empowers actors and encourages the kind of on-screen relationships that every other conventional director must cast envious eyes towards.
I do however, still find...
- 5/16/2010
- by Simon Gallagher
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Another Year, the latest project from British director Mike Leigh, returns him to this year’s Cannes Film Festival to compete for the event’s top prize.
Leigh brings together a familiar cast – including Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville and Phil Davis – for this film which he shot in London in summer and autumn 2009.
If you like this director, best known for his work on Naked and Secret & Lies movie, than you should definitely check out the rest of this report…
As usual, Leigh’s stories are really difficult to pin point, so no wonder we already had a chance to hear this kind of description instead of synopsis: …using his trademark production method of improvisation, Leigh will once again deliver a moving and detailed portrait of his characters’ inner lives.
This process has yielded some of the finest performances ever put on film, and it has generated an...
Leigh brings together a familiar cast – including Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville and Phil Davis – for this film which he shot in London in summer and autumn 2009.
If you like this director, best known for his work on Naked and Secret & Lies movie, than you should definitely check out the rest of this report…
As usual, Leigh’s stories are really difficult to pin point, so no wonder we already had a chance to hear this kind of description instead of synopsis: …using his trademark production method of improvisation, Leigh will once again deliver a moving and detailed portrait of his characters’ inner lives.
This process has yielded some of the finest performances ever put on film, and it has generated an...
- 4/25/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Although it was expected since Cannes "hearts" Sean Penn, Doug Liman must be pinching himself over the news of being included in the Main Competition, and in the company of the three names of Leigh, Kiarostami and Mikhalkov. After all, when you consider he made Jumper, then Fair Game might be a powerful political film. Out of today's 16 films named in the Main Comp (still at least 5 or maybe 6 more films to be named at a later date), it would appear that Mikhalkov's might be in the running for the longest run time. Here are four of the 16. - Although it was expected since Cannes "hearts" Sean Penn, Doug Liman must be pinching himself over the news of being included in the Main Competition, and in the company of the three names of Leigh, Kiarostami and Mikhalkov. After all, when you consider he made Jumper, then Fair Game might be a powerful political film.
- 4/15/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Why we need world film awards; a new documentary lifts the lid on the falcon trade; Mike Leigh's latest
World's best filmAfter the crushing dullness of the Baftas and the Oscars, something clearly needs to be done to invigorate awards shows. My feeling is that the Oscars should go all out for cheesy song'n'dance numbers, or get really funny and edgy and make Chris Rock the perpetual host. Then they could stop making all the black people sit in one corner, which they did last week with the Precious gang, creating surely one of the most shameful seating configurations since Rosa Parks got on that bus. Opening up the best picture nominees to 10 didn't really do much, neither making the show more populist nor more intelligent. The only category still open to surprises is the foreign language film, and that clearly needs a radical overhaul if the Oscars wish...
World's best filmAfter the crushing dullness of the Baftas and the Oscars, something clearly needs to be done to invigorate awards shows. My feeling is that the Oscars should go all out for cheesy song'n'dance numbers, or get really funny and edgy and make Chris Rock the perpetual host. Then they could stop making all the black people sit in one corner, which they did last week with the Precious gang, creating surely one of the most shameful seating configurations since Rosa Parks got on that bus. Opening up the best picture nominees to 10 didn't really do much, neither making the show more populist nor more intelligent. The only category still open to surprises is the foreign language film, and that clearly needs a radical overhaul if the Oscars wish...
- 3/14/2010
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Mike Leigh is an interesting writer/director. For example, with his Oscar-nominated film Happy-Go-Lucky he worked one-on-one with star Sally Hawkins to create her character as he has been quoted saying he begins his films with nothing more than an idea and through work with the actors, research and improvisation a story and the characters begin to emerge. When I spoke with him last October I mentioned how hard it must be to get funding for a film with no script, he told me, "It always is. I'm the guy with no script, I won't talk about casting and I won't talk about the content. You give us the money and we go away and make the film and don't interfere with us. Not all backers are interested in that proposition." Well, he's got the money and he's back to work. Gregg Kilday at The Hollywood Reporter brings word that...
- 8/27/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Mike Leigh on Wednesday began production in London on his latest feature, currently untitled.
His first film since 2008's "Happy-Go-Lucky," Leigh's new project stars, in alphabetical order, Michele Austin, David Bradley, Jim Broadbent, Phil Davis, Karina Fernandez, Oliver Maltman, Lesley Manville, Stuart McQuarrie, Martin Savage, Ruth Sheen, Imelda Staunton and Peter Wight.
Only Bradley and McQuarrie have not worked previously with the director.
Many of Leigh's regular crew also are on board, including cinematographer Dick Pope, editor Jon Gregory, casting director Nina Gold, costume designer Jacqueline Durran and hair and make-up supervisor Chrissie Blundell.
Production designer Simon Beresford is working with Leigh for the first time.
Georgina Lowe produces, with Gail Egan as exec producer.
The film is financed by Focus Features International, the U.K. Film Council's Premiere Fund and Film4. International sales are being handled by Ffi.
His first film since 2008's "Happy-Go-Lucky," Leigh's new project stars, in alphabetical order, Michele Austin, David Bradley, Jim Broadbent, Phil Davis, Karina Fernandez, Oliver Maltman, Lesley Manville, Stuart McQuarrie, Martin Savage, Ruth Sheen, Imelda Staunton and Peter Wight.
Only Bradley and McQuarrie have not worked previously with the director.
Many of Leigh's regular crew also are on board, including cinematographer Dick Pope, editor Jon Gregory, casting director Nina Gold, costume designer Jacqueline Durran and hair and make-up supervisor Chrissie Blundell.
Production designer Simon Beresford is working with Leigh for the first time.
Georgina Lowe produces, with Gail Egan as exec producer.
The film is financed by Focus Features International, the U.K. Film Council's Premiere Fund and Film4. International sales are being handled by Ffi.
- 8/26/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0 Chicago – “Happy-Go-Lucky” was one my favorite films of 2008 with a pitch-perfect performance by the great Sally Hawkins, an actress who so embodied her character that not only did she deserve to be nominated for an Oscar, she should be polishing her trophy right now. New to DVD, audiences can finally catch up with “Happy-Go-Lucky,” another notch in the belt for the great Mike Leigh, one of the more consistent filmmakers of the last twenty years.
Mike Leigh doesn’t make films like most writer/directors. His work is a collaborative, improvisational process that takes months. But it’s not like Will Ferrell’s work. There’s no improv up on the screen in an ad-libbed sense. It’s more of a co-screenwriting process, where the ensemble works with Leigh on back story and dialogue by inhabiting their characters for months at a time.
Happy-Go-Lucky was released on DVD on March 10th,...
Mike Leigh doesn’t make films like most writer/directors. His work is a collaborative, improvisational process that takes months. But it’s not like Will Ferrell’s work. There’s no improv up on the screen in an ad-libbed sense. It’s more of a co-screenwriting process, where the ensemble works with Leigh on back story and dialogue by inhabiting their characters for months at a time.
Happy-Go-Lucky was released on DVD on March 10th,...
- 3/16/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
So there's a lot of Sally Hawkins in her new character. Poppy, the heroine of Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky, is effervescent and adventurous and, yes, happy in a deliberate, thoughtful way. So too, Hawkins speaks colorfully and thoughtfully, her voice bubbling, her sentences laced with lovely and gorgeous, as are Poppy's. Most actors bring varying degrees of themselves to their characters, but Hawkins was integral to the creation of Poppy. In Leigh's process, the actors improvise their characters for several months before shooting begins — and even up to the moment of shooting — so they know exactly how to respond truthfully in each scene. Leigh fans will recognize Hawkins from her portrayal of the friendly neighborhood tart in All or Nothing and as the primly nervous upper-class girl who gets the safe abortion in Vera Drake. Jane Austen aficionados could appreciate Persuasion anew in its PBS broadcast earlier this year, when Hawkins took on the steadfast,...
- 12/11/2008
- by Dany Margolies
- backstage.com
Competition
BERLIN -- No one expects confection from British sobersides Mike Leigh, so his light-as-air new film Happy-Go-Lucky is as surprising as it is delicious with an indelible performance by new star Sally Hawkins.
As breezy as the title suggests, the film, which screened here in Competition, is about as far as can be imagined from such bleak Leigh classics as Vera Drake and Naked. Spun from the cheerful life of its central character -- a smart, confident, goofball primary school teacher named Poppy (Hawkins) -- the film shares her optimism without being at all syrupy or sentimental.
Hawkins, who starred to great effect in a recent British television remake of Jane Austen's Persuasion, is a marvel with her urchin looks and irresistible smile. She makes Poppy unforgettable.
Handsomely designed and shown on a widescreen filled with vivid colors, Happy-Go-Lucky has a serious point to make but measures its messages like calories to ensure a tasty, digestible treat. Once past the shock of it being a Leigh film, audiences everywhere will flock to enjoy a certified good time.
The film begins with Poppy bicycling carefree through the streets of London and discovering a new bookstore, in which she idles to enjoy the quiet and flirt with the dour chap at the till. Leigh places an enormous weight on Hawkins in the scene because if she weren't instantly captivating, the movie might sink before it got started. But the young actress delivers.
There is no plot to speak of. It's just a snapshot of a creative, caring young teacher at work being watchful of her flock, at home with her friends and family and at play with the world.
Poppy joins a colleague in a Flamenco dancing class, and Leigh provides a couple of hilarious sequences featuring an excellent comic performance by Karina Fernandez as the instructor.
A pain in the back takes Poppy to physiotherapy, and she maintains her high spirits even when confronting an episode of bullying at school. Meanwhile, she has started driving lessons, getting them cheap from an extremely uptight individual named Scott (Eddie Marsan).
Most people would hear the intimations of his racism, paranoia and anger and go for lessons elsewhere, but Poppy has been established as a plucky, compassionate woman, so it's not hard to believe she would stick with him.
A social worker brought in to help deal with an angry little boy in Poppy's class turns out to be a nice guy, but seeing Poppy with the man pushes the driving instructor over the edge. But none of this is made melodramatic, and there's a sweet scene in which Poppy steps into a patch of urban wasteland and has a gentle encounter with a bewildered homeless man.
Leigh's fine touch with actors is well established, and he draws wonderful performances from top to bottom, with Alexis Zegerman as Poppy's flatmate and Marsan as the wound-up Scott especially good.
Gary Yershon's music, which is not jolly but playful in the best way, adds to the pleasing mood of a lovable film that ends like the best confections, leaving an immediate wish for more of the same, please.
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
Thin Man Films
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Mike Leigh
Producer: Simon Channing Williams
Director of photography: Dick Pope
Production designer: Mark Tildesley
Music: Gary Yershon
Costume designer: David Crossman
Editor: Jim Clark
Cast:
Poppy: Sally Hawkins
Zoe: Alexis Zegerman
Dawn: Andrea Riseborough
Alice: Sinead Matthews
Suzy: Kate O'Flynn
Tash: Sarah Niles
Scott: Eddie Marsan
Suzy's Friend: Joseph Kloska
Heather: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Flamenco Teacher: Karina Fernandez
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
BERLIN -- No one expects confection from British sobersides Mike Leigh, so his light-as-air new film Happy-Go-Lucky is as surprising as it is delicious with an indelible performance by new star Sally Hawkins.
As breezy as the title suggests, the film, which screened here in Competition, is about as far as can be imagined from such bleak Leigh classics as Vera Drake and Naked. Spun from the cheerful life of its central character -- a smart, confident, goofball primary school teacher named Poppy (Hawkins) -- the film shares her optimism without being at all syrupy or sentimental.
Hawkins, who starred to great effect in a recent British television remake of Jane Austen's Persuasion, is a marvel with her urchin looks and irresistible smile. She makes Poppy unforgettable.
Handsomely designed and shown on a widescreen filled with vivid colors, Happy-Go-Lucky has a serious point to make but measures its messages like calories to ensure a tasty, digestible treat. Once past the shock of it being a Leigh film, audiences everywhere will flock to enjoy a certified good time.
The film begins with Poppy bicycling carefree through the streets of London and discovering a new bookstore, in which she idles to enjoy the quiet and flirt with the dour chap at the till. Leigh places an enormous weight on Hawkins in the scene because if she weren't instantly captivating, the movie might sink before it got started. But the young actress delivers.
There is no plot to speak of. It's just a snapshot of a creative, caring young teacher at work being watchful of her flock, at home with her friends and family and at play with the world.
Poppy joins a colleague in a Flamenco dancing class, and Leigh provides a couple of hilarious sequences featuring an excellent comic performance by Karina Fernandez as the instructor.
A pain in the back takes Poppy to physiotherapy, and she maintains her high spirits even when confronting an episode of bullying at school. Meanwhile, she has started driving lessons, getting them cheap from an extremely uptight individual named Scott (Eddie Marsan).
Most people would hear the intimations of his racism, paranoia and anger and go for lessons elsewhere, but Poppy has been established as a plucky, compassionate woman, so it's not hard to believe she would stick with him.
A social worker brought in to help deal with an angry little boy in Poppy's class turns out to be a nice guy, but seeing Poppy with the man pushes the driving instructor over the edge. But none of this is made melodramatic, and there's a sweet scene in which Poppy steps into a patch of urban wasteland and has a gentle encounter with a bewildered homeless man.
Leigh's fine touch with actors is well established, and he draws wonderful performances from top to bottom, with Alexis Zegerman as Poppy's flatmate and Marsan as the wound-up Scott especially good.
Gary Yershon's music, which is not jolly but playful in the best way, adds to the pleasing mood of a lovable film that ends like the best confections, leaving an immediate wish for more of the same, please.
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
Thin Man Films
Credits:
Director-screenwriter: Mike Leigh
Producer: Simon Channing Williams
Director of photography: Dick Pope
Production designer: Mark Tildesley
Music: Gary Yershon
Costume designer: David Crossman
Editor: Jim Clark
Cast:
Poppy: Sally Hawkins
Zoe: Alexis Zegerman
Dawn: Andrea Riseborough
Alice: Sinead Matthews
Suzy: Kate O'Flynn
Tash: Sarah Niles
Scott: Eddie Marsan
Suzy's Friend: Joseph Kloska
Heather: Sylvestra Le Touzel
Flamenco Teacher: Karina Fernandez
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/13/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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